Chapter 250: Behind Enemy Lines (Third update, please subscribe)

The artillery fire extended to the rear, and heavy mortar shells whizzed towards the artillery positions at the rear. In the violent explosion, the cannons were blown into the sky, and the gunners and cannons were buried together in tons of ash and soil.

As the first round of shelling began, in the trenches, the officers and soldiers of the security forces who had received the order were ready to set off!

"Set up the ladder! Everyone get ready!"

Following the officers' orders, the soldiers set up wooden ladders and leaned against the edge of the trenches. The trenches were two meters deep and required ladders to climb up.

"Bayonet!"

An officer's command.

The soldiers installed bayonets on their rifles one after another. The sound of metal collisions echoed in the trenches when the bayonets were installed. Then the soldiers held their rifles, their faces became a little anxious and excited, and there seemed to be some fear mixed in with their expectations. They looked up at the top of the trenches.

A moment later, with a whistle, the soldiers immediately jumped out of the two-meter-deep trench and launched an attack on the enemy's position...

Holding rifles, they charged into the trenches and followed their squad and platoon leaders, advancing quickly forward in a skirmish line.

“Beep…beep…”

The shrill sound of copper whistles echoed on the battlefield. The squad and platoon leaders blew their whistles and directed the soldiers to advance. Everyone was running, and they ran very fast.

"Hurry up, hurry up, kill them before the Chileans come to their senses!"

Amid excited shouts, the soldiers holding rifles jogged towards the Chilean trenches. Artillery shells whizzed towards the Chileans over their heads like raindrops. In front of them, smoke clouds from the explosions engulfed the Chilean trenches.

What appeared before their eyes was a spectacle, a spectacle of destruction. In the violent explosion, the trenches twisted and collapsed. The smoke even swallowed up the entire battlefield. Even though they were hundreds of meters apart, they were choked by the smell of gunpowder.

No resistance!

During the several minutes-long advance, there was no resistance except for the occasional falling bullets. Faced with such fierce artillery fire, the Chileans were simply unable to stop their attack.

Finally, the shelling ended.

When the battlefield fell into an eerie silence, a shrill whistle broke the silence. As the artillery bombardment extended to the rear, the infantry's attack accelerated. Like a group of tigers or wolves, they pounced into the Chilean defense line.

Gunshot!

The sound of gunfire echoed across the battlefield. Soldiers charged into the trenches with their rifles, and after a burst of random shooting, they raised their bayonets and fought the Chileans.

Everything was just like in training. The will of the Chileans had long been destroyed under the fierce bombardment. Many of them even dropped their weapons and turned around to flee after being attacked.

The Northern Army's defense line was broken!

Almost at the same time when the defense line was breached, hundreds of engineers were urgently repairing a section of railway on the battlefield. Because the roadbed was not destroyed, they often only needed to lay sleepers and nail the rails to easily repair the railway.

This section of damaged railway is located on the battlefield. Almost at the same time as the army advanced deep into the territory, the engineers entered the battlefield and quickly repaired the railway. They fought against time amid the sound of artillery fire and hail of bullets. Now every minute is extremely precious.

Finally, when the sky was about to brighten, the engineering corps sent out a signal - the railway was to be repaired!

After receiving this signal, a seemingly ordinary train departed from the train station in Chillán.

As the train roared northward, An Fusheng looked back at the crowded carriage, which was packed with more than a hundred fighters. All of them wore Chilean military uniforms. According to the plan, they would control the train stations and railway bridges along the way, thereby controlling the entire railway. Behind him, there were twelve trains that would depart at different times, divided into twelve attack groups, each with about a thousand people.

Their goal was very simple: to control the railway lines along the way, then reach the city of Santiago and occupy the Chilean capital before Santiago could react.

This plan was full of risks. As the train was moving forward, artillery fire and explosions could be heard on both sides of the railway. The battle was still going on. The front-line troops had just broken through the Chilean defense line. The main force of the Chilean army had not yet been destroyed, and they could counterattack at any time.

An Fusheng and his men took a train and headed north along the newly repaired railway. In the north, a small raiding team was already operating along the railway line. These raiding teams were composed of Mapuche people, with only a dozen people in each team. They were like bandits, attacking train stations along the way, destroying or controlling telegraph stations. Such actions were just to provide cover for the main force.

In order to facilitate the operation, each group was equipped with two or three Indian guides who were familiar with the local environment. Before each operation, those people would first go to the train station to check the situation.

"How's the situation at the train station?"

Liu Wenyuan, who was riding on a horse, asked the Indian who had just returned.

In fact, he is also an Indian, but he changed his surname to Chinese after naturalization. In Araucanía today, many Mapuche who have served in the military have changed their surnames and names to Chinese. They can speak some simple Chinese. Liu Wenyuan can even write Chinese characters, which is why he was promoted to sergeant. Only those who can write Chinese characters and speak Chinese have the opportunity to become officers. Of course, the so-called officers are actually non-commissioned officers.

"There are sixteen Chilean soldiers at the train station. Only the captain has a revolver. The others all have rifles."

Even the Chilean army had never considered that one day someone would send out a commando team to attack the train station and destroy the telegraph lines. After all, this tactic was completely out of date, so there were only some military police in the train station to maintain law and order.

Soon, Liu Wenyuan and others dressed in civilian clothes arrived at the train station. Looking at the Chilean soldier in front of the platform, the corners of his lips raised slightly. When he got close, he immediately pulled out a revolver from under his woolen shawl and fired a shot.

The moment the gunshots rang out, the train station was in chaos. Before the Chilean soldiers could react, they were knocked to the ground by this group of "bandits".

"Everyone, stop moving!"

Liu Wenyuan, holding two guns, shouted in Spanish.

"Occupy the telegraph room!"

However, it only took a few minutes for the raiders to occupy the small station. The passengers and railway employees in the station were all taken prisoner. Half an hour later, a train just arrived at the station, and the people and the train were all taken prisoner...

(End of this chapter)